>> thank you for being here today. bill will be back tomorrow. i will see you later tomorrow afternoon and tonight. a busy day. see you later. "happening now" starts right now. goodbye, everybody. jenna: breaking news on today's top headlines and news stories you will see here first. jon: an update on a deadly gas explosion in new jersey. breaking details on the blast claims a woman's life and damaged or destroyed dozens of homes. also the latest in the trial of the woman accused of murdering her ex-husband with a car bomb. we expect a cross-examination of the victim's daughter. and a dramatic hit-and-run caught on camera, who police are still looking for and the latest on the's condition. all "happening now." fireworks on capitol hill after womaa woman at the center of ths

targeting scandal pleads the fifth again. the morning, i am jon scott. jenna: hope you are off great day. i am jenna lee. trying to get to the bottom of the claims they unfairly targeted the tea party and other conservative groups. she refuses to answer questions like she did the last time around and that set off this fiery reaction. >> i am a member of the congress of the america. we have members over here represent hundreds of thousands of people. you cannot have just a one-sided negotiation. there is absolutely something wrong with that, this is absolutely un-american. >> we have a hearing.

>> i do have a question. what are you hiding? >> she is pleading the fifth. jenna: that is just a little bit of it. more with this. how did the short hearing get so he did so quickly? >> this was nine and a half months after lois lerner can be capitol hill and in both the fifth and refused to answer questions, so it was tense going in and nobody was quite sure if she was going to talk. >> what exactly wanted to fix the problem caused by citizen united, what exactly does that mean? >> my counsel has advised may have not waived by constitutional amendment and i will decline to advance or any question. >> c will not tell us who wanted

to fix a problem caused by citizens united? >> on the advice of my counsel i exercise my fifth amendment right and declined to answer the question. >> they say they will continue digging house speaker john boehner says she has to testify or should be held in contempt of congress. jenna. jenna: we will see if we get there. what made the top democrats becomes so emotional? >> he and the chairman darrell issa have had a tense debate and he says he became furious when no democrats were allowed to speak before the meeting was adjourned. >> the chairman is well aware i have wanted to make a statement. lady and gentleman we are better than that. where a better country than that, better committee than that, and i have said on many occasions that when things like this happen it goes against the integrity of the committee.

>> the investigation of the irs continues and at this point it seems without the testimony of lois lerner, a key figure. jenna: thank you be at jon: more now on the irs scandal and the dramatic hearing. senior politics writer and world report. no surprise i suppose lois lerner chose to take the fifth but even committee members said going into this thing they were not sure what she was going to do. >> i would have been shocked if she answered his questions. apparently they had been correspondence between the attorney and the office over the last few weeks, or believed she was going to answer questions at some point, but that came out a week ago that her attorney had said she felt she was getting death threats, she felt concerned about her safety, and

obviously there is all of the legal questions that she opens himself up to if she starts to answer questions, so to me i didn't see a change from nine months ago when she took the fifth two answering those questions now. jon: i can see would not want to open yourself up to more scrutiny but at the same time answering some of the questions might cause some of these people who were so angry to ease up, she has legitimate answers for why the irs did what it did. >> sure. darrell issa believes she is the key figure in all of this. what we have to watch next is to they go after any other staff or is there a chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, anybody who worked under her that can be called to testify to provide some answers that he is seeking.

jon: any prospect of giving her immunity? are they ever going to get testimony out of this woman? >> have nothing to report them offering immunity. that'll be the key to how bad he wants this. might be able to get some more cooperation even with democrats if they were to widen this investigation, you saw in that clip on that procedure, but has also said there was some evidence that a few democratic organizations were targeted, and investigation is only focused on the conservative groups that were targeted. i don't know if there is any way they can come to common ground on that as far as the type of inquiries they would support on that committee, but it did not seem they were on the same page today.

jon: there has been a relationship between minority leader in the minority member on that committee. that's me ask you a judgment question, and opinion question really, was that outburst from him theatrics or is he legitimately angry? was it aptly unheard of for him to adjourned the hearing in a way that he did? >> it was a little bit of both. he got the clip on fox news, it will be played around. on other networks. i think he meant to express a point, he was going to do it in dramatic fashion to make that point. we're also getting close to an election year, this is an issue that was resonating with tea party groups, conservative groups and remember you had the debate over syria this whole

investigation dated from the headlines. he is trying to resurrect it i think you saw the frustration very apparent that it is a one-sided investigation, but theatrics are always involved in politics. jon: president obama said he was furious this would happen and since then it has been almost nothing out of the white house. thank you very much. jenna: another big story in a crisis in ukraine, here's what some of the top officials are doing today. secretary of defense chuck hagel has counterparts, america's top of a tree officer also is speaking with his top counterpart, russia's top military officer. foreign ministers from united states and russi rushed me with several european leaders in hopes of solv solvent ongoing dispute.

state department is calling a brief discussion after the main group meetings. they will meet again in about an hour. urgent talks between russia and ukraine. jon: new witness testimony today linking paralympic track star oscar pistorius to a new shooting. he is accusing the shooting death of his model girlfriend on valentine's day last year. joining us by phone, fox news producer. paula. >> we have learned oscar pistorius said it is not so much about "blade runner" as "played shifter." they said they were inquiring a loaded gun in the restaurant.

he then asked the gun owner to say to people if anybody asks that it was him who had fired the gun. the witness claims pistorius claimed he did not want the media on his back. here's what some of what this guy had to say. >> i don't how the gun went off. he did apologize. i do remember oscar saying i don't want any tension, say it was you and the people from the restaurant came. >> and the long came the restaurant owner, the defense lawyer an attempt to regain

ground suggested he had come to him and offered to pay the damage to the restaurant. the owner said he didn't remember that happening. earlier the defense tried to trip up the third witness where he lived. the defense is complaining the testimony of witnesses are very similar. the witnesses are married to each other. consummate passing notes to the defense team. he can put his head in his hands and cried today but also at one point showed the suggestion of a smile as he left court greeted by schoolgirls chanting "oscar, oscar, oscar." they treated him like a rockstar. jon: thank you.

so what is the judge going to make of the testimony on day three of this trial? we're going to ask about some criticism police had received as test my heats up. we have a legal panel next hour. jenna: new drama at the socialite murder trial where we have emotional testimony from the victim's daughter. what are taking the stand again today. plus the developments in ukraine with the country's new prime minister with top diplomats hold a key meeting to try to calm the growing tensions. ♪ [ cellphones beeping ]

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jenna: writes now new information, the fbi joining the search for missing toddler in mississippi. her family says he realized the two-year-old girl was gone saturday afternoon.

plaintiff may have asked to call the number you just saw on your screen there. also want the so-called murder trial. accusing the car bombing death of her former husband. today his daughter expected to be back on a stand for cross examination. and a deal break in southeastern california. for inmates escaped the jail after overpowering guards. the state's national guard now helping out in the manhunt. jon: all kind of developments in the ukraine crisis. the new prime minister insisting crimea most remain a part of ukraine. they have plans to discuss the civil war. defusing the growing issues over the takeover of crimea. nato take taking the issue direy with russia. meantime russia test fires a ballistic missile as international team of military observers heads to crimea.

joining us with thoughts. fox news military analyst. what a situation. how big of a deal is that? >> john, what is interesting about that is they thought they were going to do it, but the reality is putin could have said we will hold off on the test firing considering all the things going on. instead he had the missile fired. it is a reminder or should be a reminder to all of us the russians still have a very capable nuclear power, over 1500 of those missiles and they could go 6500 miles, further than from moscow to los angeles. just a reminder the russians are not playing around. is it a threat? no. but if he decides to use it, it is.

jon: it makes one wonder about the wisdom of scrapping the antimissile shield we had agree holding the czech republic to hold on their soil. >> and that was unfortunate. they have worked so hard with their own populations to get them to agree, both those countries, we put them in there under the notion to protect us against the iranians if he ever developed capability. of course they have. also it wasn't spoken, but it was known it was to protect us against the russians in case they decided to use it. that was when we first acts obama did was to scrap that. jon: it was an act of good faith

for the tensions in russia and the united states. this is the thanks we get? >> that was part of the reset button. operating in fantasyland as many of your guests have said, a fantasyland of hoop putin is and what their objectives are in the world. it is not always ecb. jon: what would you do? russia's making ludicrous claims they don't control the troops that have invaded crimea because they are local defense forces. what would you do to bring an end to this thing? >> i don't think we would do anything. it is simply not going to happen. this is kind of one of those reagan moment. we would not be here. i don't think there is anything

wrong with but a few navy ships into the black sea. put them in there to establish a u.s. president. talking rigorously about getting together with the military, providing them more military training, providing some support. we don't want to go to war with russia, but we need to remind russia and putin u.s. as a world power, the still want to have a role in what happens throughout this world, positive role. jenna: wire hospitals getting more difficult? and a deadly explosion a townhouse complex with new information for investigators on exactly what happened.

jenna: welcome back, everyone. new details and a deadly explosion a townhouse development in new jersey. live in the new york city newsroom with more. >> an autopsy will be done, a woman found dead on top of a c car, they will be figuring out what the cause of death is there. in new jersey, they also have in addition to the unidentified woman who died, seven others injured at the townhouse complex. they're quite stunning. they have been accounted for, thank goodness, but five of the injured were workers for the power company pse ng. that occurred on tuesday. the cause you have to be determined.

investigators will scour this area surveying it to find out if they can let residents return rd together up any belongings and figure out what caused pse&g i received a call from a contractor about a damaged gas line before the blast and that is believed to have ignited. a causal be determined, who will likely learn about it there setting up for right now. they say they had severe fractures, a concussion. several agencies are now involved in the investigation to see if there was any foul play. we will monitor it when it begins and any additional details as it happens. jon: and look at health care, the growing outrage over this government policy. private cancer clinics are reimbursed far less for the same

services. explain that one, if you can. >> it was not easy, john. one of the more bizarre aspects of the approach to health care, that is it sometimes goes out of the way to spend more money than necessary. cancer treatments paying hospitals far more for multitude of cancer centers. listen. >> there about 40% more expensive than they are here. it affects the co-pay, others as well. >> not only do they work with the outpatient setting but the patient pays more. all the data suggests they pay 20 to 30% more. >> the house what is paid twice as much for chemo as a community center does. for the patient it is about price and convenience. >> i can come here and get chemo

within five minutes. at the hospital to be five minutes, it could be 10 hours depending on what is going on. which i notice healthier, but would rather have five minutes or 10 hours? >> something else it also draws them to community cancer treatments, a sense of normalcy. >> he can still sleep in your own bed at night, still see her children, go out to dinner, do the things you normally would do. >> everything is very personal here, very upbeat. it is one step for me from the standpoint of blood test downstairs to talk him up stairs the doctors have already got them. >> blue cross blue shield in pennsylvania is taking things into his own hands and will now pay the same amount, the same procedure regardless of where it is performed.

jon: a good sign. thank you. jenna: the crisis in ukraine putting a whole new focus on controversial cuts proposed in the budget. the defense secretary saying about it as he testifies today on capitol hill. and on a student taking her parents to court over tuition and financial support. the latest on the lawsuit and how it can change family laws coming up next. [ fishing rod casting line, marching band playing ] [ male announcer ] the rhythm of life. [ whistle blowing ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. [ m'm... ] great taste. [ tapping ] sounds good. campbell's healthy request. m'm! m'm! good.® and a hotel is the perfect place to talk to you about hotels. all-you-can-eat is a hotel policy that allows you to eat all that you can. the hotel gym is short for gymnasium. the hotel pool is usually filled with water.

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jenna: still to come this hour, a dramatic hit an run caught on camera. who police are trying to track down and how the teenage victim is doing in the video. developments in the case of a honor student suing her parents for tuition and much more. and new information on a buried treasure worth millions that a couple found in their very own backyard. jon: defense secretary chuck hagel appearing before congress right now answering questions about his controversial budget proposal. the budget would shrink the size of the army to preworld war ii levels and slash billions from the pentagon budget. jennifer griffin is live at more. jennifer? >> reporter: jon, the defense secretary and chairman of the joint chiefs had long been scheduled to appear before congress to talk about the

49billion dollars defense budget and cuts to the military this year. >> your timing exquisite. you're coming over here with a budget that we agree on, at least on the numbers at a time when the world is probably more unsettled than it has been since the end of world war ii. the invasion of crimea, geneva ii collapse, iran negotiations stalled. >> reporter: in his opening statement secretary hagel addressed the crisis in ukraine. he said the u.s. was stepping up in participation of nato air patrols over the baltics and joint training with poland adding that the supreme allied commander was meeting with his east and central european counterparts. >> this is a time for wise and steady and firm leadership and it's a time for all of us to stand with the ukrainian people in support of their territorial integrity and their sovereignty.

>> reporter: general martin dempsey when on to say that the pentagon is moving forward with requests from the white house to begin planning a full pullout from afghanistan. this calls for the army to decrease in size to 440,000 troops, the lowest level since world war ii, something that vladmir putin would be carefully watching. >> we do assume higher risks in some areas in this budget. this means that under certain circumstances we could be limited by capability, capacity or readiness in the conduct of an assigned mission and these are the risk that is we have to manage. >> at a time that is probably uncertain as we have been through, maybe anytime since world war ii. >> reporter: that is something the pentagon and senator ace agree on yet there is no agreement to halt the defense budget cuts. jon? jon: jennifer griffin, keeping an eye on that from the pentagon. thanks, jennifer. jenna: as debate continues over

the military budget some analysts say those proposed pentagon budget cuts only embolden our ad sir varies like russian president vladmir putin. others disagree. tom friedman wrote this. this isn't awl-star wrestling the fact that putin seized crimea russian speaking zone of ukraine once part of russia where many citizens prefer to be part of russia where russia has a naval base, is not like take poland. and doug bondo, senior fellow at cato institute to talk a little more about this nice to have you both. michael, we'll start with you much you wrote an editorial in forbes.com what you say is a toxic mix that is causing the west to look weak. you pointed to budget cuts in the military as one of those things. what else is involved in what you call this toxic mix that is weakening us? >> jenna, it is not just the

budget cuts which are very important because we have commitments all around the world. it is the lack of will and indecision. look, there is track record they look at. they look at syria. they look at iran. they look at north korea. they look at the east china sea. that influences perceptions. i'm glad tom friedman can blythely dismiss the freedom of people in ukraine and crimea. to say it is okay for europe to go back to the 19th century and okay for us to accept that is losing all the lessons of the 20th century and will make our world much more dangerous. jenna: one of the things tom friedman also says, doug, we give vladmir putin way too much credit around don't give ourselves enough. do you think that is part of it? >> well the problem here is relative interests and what you're going to do about it. ukraine matters a lot more to russia than it does to us. we'll not going to war with russia. we're not going to put ground troops in. that gives him advantage. it is ugly aspect of the word. you have to decide what you're

willing to fight for or not and exercise will over and that is where he is willing to take much greater risks there than we are. that will not change despite whatever the size of our army is. it will not change whether our policy in north korea or china is different. >> michael, do you agree if. >> well, you know i would say look, it is fine okay, it is ukraine, crimea today. what happens when it is eastern ukraine? what happens when wider adiz and air defense identification zone in south china sea. it is salami slicing, jenna, piece by piece. stability we bank on for business, travel, political relations. at each and every step, say fine it just happened here. you know what? we'll wake up and world will look a lot more different to our children than it does to us. jenna: doug, what one of the things you say, russia is great power wannabe. do you think they're not capable of the going the pack michael laid out or do you think we would stop them before they did something like? >> the good news is russia is not nazi germany and russia i

not the soviet union. vladmir putin cares about his borders. he wants respect. he has to interest taking over europe. we have to make prudential judgments. we're not willing to go nuclear confrontation over ukraine and we shouldn't. that is not important to us. you make judgments important. china is much more potentially threatening power than russia. i worry about them and adiz territorial claims than i do russia. jenna: doug, let me ask you about that. are actions in ukraine watched like places like china and what precedent that might be setting? >> i think countries make prudential judgments as well. we have treaty relationships with japan and south korea. that is very different than ukraine. we long had interests in east asia we haven't had ukraine. ukraine was historically part of russia and soviet union. it is relatively new country. i wish them well but two decades of independence very different

relationship we have them with long-term alliance relationships in east asia. jenna: michael, doug brought up nazi germany, that is something that you actually referred to in your piece as well. saying some commentators are making comparison with nazi germany and early days of nazi expansionism an what we're seeing in ukraine. do you think that's a fair comparison or do you think that doesn't work here? >> well i agree with doug it is not idealogical. what i was trying to say we know putin is exact acting from some level of weakness. he judged ukraine is weaker and west is weak an will not oppose him. in 193if hitler had been opposed in beginning he would not have gone forward. we know that from historical record. that is the danger today. not that we'll have a 20th century style of ideologies. we'll go back to the 19th century style of grout power. we have half century alliances in east asia.

we've done almost nothing to support japanese over the islands dispute with china. we've done nothing about the adiz and ignored pleas from nations in southeast asia including philippines to help them. i agree crimea is not treaty partner in the united states. but our global actions are encouraging this type of aggressive opportunism that will be the tune of the future, jenna. jenna: doug, your final thoughts? >> we have to have our allies do a lot more. japan needs more significant military. philippines wants to take on china has to have its own military. europeans have 10 times the gdp of russia. if this concerns them and they're a lot closer they need to do a lot more, including considering cutting off purchases of natural gas. this isn't just an american responsibility. we have allies all over the world who want to rely upon us. we can't afford that. it will be up to them to step up. jenna: very interesting. a national debate. shepard smith is reporting as you know from ukraine. one of the things he said

yesterday talking to people on streets of kiev there is much more talk what is europe going to do than what the united states is going to do. something interesting to consider here. this is big topic of conversation on many different levels. great to have you both. look forward to having you both back. thank you. jon: a horrific scene after a 14-year-old tries to beat traffic crossing against a red light. frightening to watch as the young girl is hit by two vehicles. we'll tell you how this ended. also she hauled her parents into court claiming they kicked her out of the house and refused to support her. now there is a ruling in a case that could make history.

jenna: new next hour the deadly terror attack in benghazi and how the democrats are dealing with it. why it could end up hurting hillary clinton in 2016 some analysts say. a pregnant woman drives her minivan filled with children right into the surf in daytona

beach. the dramatic rescue and why she did it. a report about common antibiotics. what dangers they propose and what the cdc is recommending. jon: dramatic video captures a scary hit-and-run it happened at an intersection in california. watch the right side of your screen as a 14-year-old girl trying to cross the street is hit by two vehicles. police say she was trying to cross against the red light. first a red pickup truck hit her. then a black sedan. they're charging owner of sedan with felony hit-and-run because he left the scene. they're still looking for the driver of the red pickup truck. the girl was taken to the hospital with leg injuries but she is expected to be okay. >> so lucky, right? she wasn't more injured. a new jersey judge ruling against an 18-year-old honor student suing her parents. we told awe little bit this yesterday. rachel canning was seeking $650 a week and thousands of dollars

in attorney fees, claiming her parents kicked her out of her home and refused to support her. they deny it. they say she was not following the rules and she left. the judge struck down part of the lawsuit, financial support saying it would set a bad precedent. she gets no weekly fees or weekly pay. everyone will be back in court in a few weeks to talk about college tuition and whether or not the parents owe her that. i'm sure dr. chuck has thoughts on this. dr. chuck williams is a psychologist at drexel university. dr. chuck, you say the court should not have agreed to even hear this. why? >> thanks for having me, jenna. because this is parenting issue and about boundaries and limit, based on what i have read the parents were doing the right thing. you will do chores. you will be a positive influence on your younger siblings. you can't go out and when ever you want, stay out whenever you like, twerk until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning without consequence.

what i said seems like rachel is bright, motivated, beautiful young lady. she is beautiful young lady. she has college scholarships. the behavior is coming across like she is entitled or bratty. this "affluenza"-like. jenna: "affluenza" is the case in texas where the boy had "affluenza" he didn't understand cause and effect because he was privileged. this seems like a nice family but there is also another side to this everyone is colling down on rachel, pretty hard. hard as adults to look at her and to understand our side and we'll do our best. the family she is living with, family of her best friend is paying her lawyer fees so she can do this. what do you think on parents on parents here? what do you think about that? >> i read that there was a problem with the boyfriend. the dad didn't like the boyfriend. the mom didn't like the boyfriend. there was lack of supervision. maybe he was being enabled in negative way. her parents saw that, whoa, we don't want you hanging around

with this guy under our roof, our roof. we pay the mortgage. we bought this. we're the ones with the jobs. therefore you go by our rules. she didn't like that. she left on her own. she wasn't kicked out. i'm really struggling to figure out why she thinks she was wronged. i can't find any evidence of that. seems to me that the parents did things right and she didn't like that. she went against them and she is being sued. maybe there is like a family dynamic between the two and battling this out using kid as sort of pawns in all of that. jenna: that is interesting. a lot of comments coming from the father and mother. the father saying i'm a liberal, liberal parent. i wish i could have grown up in my house. i was tougher on my cops. he worked in law enforcement at work, than i ever been at home. that is coming from the father. rachel had this to say in court. my parents rationalized their actions by blaming me for not following their rules. they stopped paying high school tuition to punish me and redirected my college fund indicating their refusal to afford me an education as

punishment. dr. chuck, how does this family, any family come back together after fighting words inside and outside of court? with will be key to repairing this family. >> you know one of the things i saw when i was doing clinical work with kids with different kinds of challenges and supporting families, what happens his is, early in the child's development they allow things to take place that shouldn't take place. they think it is cute. spoil them, give them things they want. the dad admitted that somewhat. he wish he had been tougher on her. when they grow up and become teenagers to do their own thing. it is not true anymore. they become defiant and disrespectful and not follow boundaries and limits. rachel need to know when she lives with her parents and lives by their rules unless they're abusing her. that is another issue. if they tell her she has to be by midnight, 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning she has to do that. they can't bend on this it is not healthy. i was speaking to somebody recently.

you know what? i had someone in my house as stepdaughter who didn't follow rules. now she has drug issues. fighting her way back. that is what happens. it is a slippery slope when kids don't have boundaries and limits they can't take no. in this extreme example they take parents to court and sue them to get their own way, this is just bad. parents have to be allowed to raise their kids. that means being able to say no. >> you see the parents crying in court. they say it really broken up the family and caused so many issues and hope that the family can come back together after all of this. dr. chuck we'll relying on your expertise of course as we continue on the case and other as well. thank you for your time today. >> thank you, jenna. jon: i'm with dr. chuck on that. new twist in the case of the couple that found buried treasure in their backyard. gold coins worth millions and millions of dollars, could it be connected to a turn of the century theft? we're live with that story.

jenna: new information on a hidden stash of gold coins discover mid-northern california. quite a mystery. jamie colby is back in our newsroom with more on this. >> jenna, it was so exciting when they found this california couple in their own backyard this treasure trove of gold coins. it had actually been buried there and they stumbled across it walking their dog and clearly had not appeared out of thin air. someone put them there. almost immediately the speculation began, where had they come from? some of them were stamped as early as the 1800s and they had a face value of the time of about $27,000. so now, trying to figure out where they came from, there was one theory that dated back to six bags of gold that were from 100-year-old break-in at the

u.s. mint near san francisco. its chief clerk at the time had long been accused of theft. they never found the coins but experts say today the coins could sell for more than $10 million but unfortunately a spokesperson says if those coins are still missing. the mint says this is not connected to the finding of these relic coins in the backyard. and the reason is, why it matters is, because the treasury says, if they had been, oh, you better belief the u.s. government was going to come and fetch those coins, as government property. so the couple is not identified, jenna, but so far they still have the loot. >> that would be really depressing if they found out that it belongs to the government after all of that? >> well they haven't sold them yet but $10 million for the coins worth 27,000? that is pretty good investment whoever put them there. jenna: maybe you're right. maybe we should bury things just in case. >> time capsule time. >> jamie, thanks very much for that. jon: that poor couple. they're anonymous and i can see

why. they will get hammered in taxes already even if they do settle coins. the idea government coming back and reclaiming its gold because it was stolen 100 years ago? what a government. jenna: don't you want to find i do.o buried those coins jenna: it is an interesting twist in the story. whoever left them there, for whatever reason, you would hope there's a good reason why they left all that gold behind so. jon: and again i'm going to dig up my backyard to see what is there. jenna: i will get you one of those scanner things. jon: love that. it was an emotional day in court as oscar pistorius breaks down on hearing the testimony. so will "the blade runner"'s display do anything to dissuade the judge hering his case? plus are fellow democrats putting hillary clinton at risk by dismissing criticism over the deadly terror attacks in benghazi? what a new poll reveals. ♪

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jon: big developments on our top stories and breaking news this hour. jenna: fireworks at capitol hill

today as a house committee continues to investigate the irs political targeting scandal. and the former head of the division at the heart of it all again refusing to talk. also russian president not backing down as the crisis in ukraine continues. secretary john kerry meeting with his russian counter part. we'll hear from secretary kerry this hour to see how that is going. we know second-hand smoke is not good for kids but a new study shows that it may be worse, much worse than we thought. is all "happening now." jon: a fox news alert. heated and personal argument breaks out during a hearing on capitol hill. welcome so the second hour of "happening now." i'm jon scott. jenna: imjenna lee. trying to get down to the why the irs was targeting tea party groups for extra scrutiny. the irs says they weren't. the woman at head of scandal once begin refusing what she knows. former irs official lois lerner

making her second appearance before the house oversight committee. >> miss learner, why would you say tea party cases were very dangerous? >> on the advice of my counsel i respectfully exercise my fifth amendment right and decline to answer that question. >> moments after that, top democrat, elijah cummings clashing with republican chairman of the committee, darrell issa after issa tried to adjourn the hearing without hearing from anybody else when he learned that learner was not going to say anything. >> i am a member of the congress of the united states of america. i am outraged. >> well -- >> we have members over here, each who represents 700,000 people. you can not just have a one-sided investigation. that is absolutely something wrong with that and it is absolutely un-american. jenna: chairman issa vowing to the investigation will go on. >> at this point we will continue our investigation into

the irs targeting of conservative groups without the testimony of miss learner. jenna: house speaker john boehner is getting involved as well, warning that learner should testify or be held in contempt. jon: "happening now," new poll raises questions about the impact of the september 11th terror attack in benghazi and the race for the white house in 2016. alex writes in the "national journal", countless congressional committee reports, administration probes and journalistic investigations cleared then secretary of state hillary clinton of any wrongdoing and found there was little else the obama administration could have done once the attacks began. gazi has become shorthand for partisan scandal. democrats are in denial if they think benghazi won't be an issue in the 2016 presidential race should clinton run. new pew research center "usa

today poll", find 15% of americans view benghazi as most negative aspect of hillary clinton's career followed by her husband's affair when bill clinton was in office. four americans were killed in the benghazi attack including ambassador christopher stevens. then outgoing secretary clinton appeared before a congressional committee last spring made these remarks. >> the fact is we had four dead americans. was it because of a protest and whether it was guys out for a walk some night and decided they would go kill some americans, what difference at this point does it make? jon: david drucker, senior correspondent for the "washington examiner." the thrust of that "national journal" piece, lynn, those who support hillary clinton are not doing her any favors by sort of pushing the benghazi to the side. how does she confront that? how do her supporters confront it? >> well her supporters confront

it by continuing to lay the infrastructure that they are doing if she does make a run in 2016. building mailing lists, stockpiling money, organizing, getting names on databases. a lot of how this benghazi controversy unfolds is whether or not her folks have the money ability to make something more of it. guying -- buying ads, what will hurt her if new facts come out. jon: one of the most memorable campaign ads of the 2008 season, david, when she was still running in the primary, the 3:00 a.m. phone call ad when hillary was best positioned to pick up the phone if some world crisis enveloped the united states at 3:00 a.m. how does she rerun that same kind of ad given what happened in benghazi? >> i don't know that she can. i think one of the challenges for hillary is to develop a sort of updated, fresh rationale for

her candidacy. it was competence. it was know-how. while she still has a lot of qualities at least voters will think she does her record as secretary of state and troubles around the globe that can be traced at least back to her tenure are a problem politically she is going to need to overcome. that's why i think the benghazi investigation that is ongoing and if you talk to republicans looking into this, they think there are a lot more there. it keeps it in the news and republicans, when they get around to seriously attacking hillary clinton as they would any democratic candidate for president, they're going to go after her and it is going to cause a lot of questions. so it is not simply a case of, everybody loves hillary today. there is really no campaign today. so the challenges remain in the future. jon: 69% of those in this pew poll, lynn, suggested that hillary clinton is tough. 49% of them, that was her best attribute they said. 49% of them picked new ideas. isn't that a problem if you've

been the secretary of state and you want to run for president and 49% of folks think that new ideas is best attribute? >> well, again, in politics, both of you know it is compared to who and compared to what? so if you think ideas are, new ideas are only good in this context, i think in comparing them to some rival and we don't know that. you know, she has a whole long record of things she stand for. policies she is involved in and thinks she is speaking out at. i don't know how this could hurt her or help her that particular data point. in that poll, most important thing i thought, it looked like republicans are forgiving her or forgiving the whole bill clinton infidelity era and that might mean one less thing to be a distraction to her if she does eventually run. jon: that could seem like old news, david, by the time the 2016 elections come around. what about prospect that

hillary clinton presidency might sort of be the third term of an obama administration? i mean given, obviously she is not secretary of state anymore but you've got china making real noises in the pacific. you've got russia invading ukraine. you've got iran perhaps on the verge of a bomb. you've got north korea cree being as belligerent as ever. there are all kinds of hot spots around the world that have sort of flamed up. >> that's right. that's why i think actually for all the focus on benghazi, and when her husband was president, i really think this is going to come down in large part how voters feel about president barack obama when hillary clinton, if she runs begins to run because, she would be a third democratic term. the republican who runs, if it's a good candidate who has some sort of appeal will be able to say, let's try a new direction, let's try a new approach. hillary clinton will have to make the case for basically maintaining much of the policies of the past eight years.

and if people aren't happy with the health care law still, that is problematic. and it is also problem mattic if the economy isn't deemed to have recovered strong enough and fast enough. she will have to find a way to differentiate herself from the current president and that could be a -- jon: good news, lynn, in 2008, when she was running, 51% of the american voters according to the pew poll found her hard to like. now that number is down to 36%. so her likability seems to have gone up. >> isn't that interesting? do you remember the famous line in one of the debates during the democratic primary, hillary, you're likeable enough? so i think she is, when you're just doing a job without being attacked every day as she was when she was secretary of state it shows that you can survive these and maybe even prevail but likability gives her a second chance for to reintroduce herself to people that night not

have been so interested in her before or might have had negative feelings on her. all that helps her get a second look. jon: those two candidates bashing each other did bury the hatchet and she served in the first term of his administration. lynn sweet, david drucker. thank you both. >> thanks a lot. jon: the midterm election season heating up. let's take a quick look at last night's primary result from texas. in the governor's race, democratic state senator wendy davis will face off against republican attorney general greg abbott. both will replace governor rick perry. john cornyn avoiding a runoff with tea party challenger. cornyn's democratic challenger will run off in may. george p. bush, winning republican nomination for state land commissioner. still to come this month, voters go to the polls in illinois and april 1st, d.c. holds its primary. things really get rolling in may where we see primaries in 11

different states. >> fox news alert now. russian defense forces surrounding ukrainian troops in crimea. armed men surrounding the u.n. secretary-general's representative there. john kerry goes head-to-head against russian foreign minister sergey lavrov right now. they are trying to find a peaceful solution to the standoff. kerry and lavrov are meeting alone. here at home defense secretary chuck hagel says they are ramping up a joint training exercise in neighboring poland. he plans to speak with his ukrainian counterpart later today. chief white house correspondent ed henry is live at white house. one of our big stories today, ed. we have critics who say they haven't heard enough from the white house. >> reporter: you heard this familiar refeign from republicans on a whole host of foreign policy issues that the president is not leading. the president rejections that.

he says the crisis hopes to be resolved next few days or next few weeks. he left a short time ago, the president, to connecticut to do an event pushing hike in minimum wage leaving to his defense secretary chuck hagel to go to a senate panel and defend big cuts to the defense budget. republican john mccain sarcastically told hagel his timing is exquisite to be cutting the defense budget at a time when there are crises all around the world. >> they -- invasion of crimea. geneva ii collapse. iran negotiations stalled. south china sea, china more and more aggressive. north korea fired missiles in the last few days. syria is now turned into a regional conflict. and the list goes on. >> reporter: now john mccain has been trying to make the case in recent days that the syrian crisis is tied to what is happening in ukraine because

when the president drew that red line a couple of years ago about potential u.s. military action if assad used chemical weapons, the fact that military action did not happen, mccain and other republicans like lindsey graham have been asserting that sent a signal to the russian president he could get away with whatever he wanted, jenna. jenna: how is the administration defending its response? >> the president they say is working phones, diplomatic channels, finding a way to resolve the crisis. yesterday he had a one-hour phone call with german chancellor angela merkel, who is really emerging as kind of the key link here because of germany's close ties with russia as the person trying to talk putin down from the ledge if you will. and chuck hagel amid this fierce criticism from john mccain, said everyone needs to calm down. that the president is on top of this, listen. >> this is a time for wise and steady and firm leadership. and it's a time for all of us to stand with the ukrainian people in support of their territorial

integrity and their sovereignty. and we are doing that. that in particular is what president obama continues to do as we pursue diplomatic and economic options. >> reporter: those economic conditions could be and options could be critical for a couple reasons. u.s. and european allies weighing potential sanctions against russia. number two, white house officials privately say they think one of their trump cards in the whole situation that the russian economy is very fragile right now. the ruble as you know is dropping to its lowest level in many years and russian stock market has taken a hit because of uncertainty because of this situation. ultimately the u.s. believes that economic pressure is going to get putin to back down. jenna? jenna: we'll continue to watch the story, ed, thank you. >> reporter: good to see you. jon: questions are growing whether the ukrainian crisis may have us entering a new cold war as relations between president obama and russian president putin seem to grow ever

chillier. we'll look how the deeper philosophical issues may be splitting the two. plus firefighters say a pregnant woman intentionally drove her minivan into the ocean, with her three children inside as they begged for help. a live report on what was going on there coming up. for heartbur? yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief!

jenna: the situation in ukraine very volatile right now. we expect to hear from secretary kerry shortly as he wraps up his meeting with his russian counterpart in paris. as russian president put fight claims the right to force to defend russian speakers in ukraine. the relationship between our president and president putin less than warm. you remember attention this video got about the body language between the two. there may abroad philosophical reason that they don't see eye-to-eye in a piece in the "wall street journal." the leader believes he moved beyond

the cold war and his russian counterpart seems more comfortable moving back into it. americans tend to see the cold war in rear view mirror as widely expensive period of idealogical struggle settled decisively in favor of the rightful victor, democratic capitalism. russians tend to think moscow played its rightful role as superpower with large, clearly defined sphere of influence and important voice on every world issue. gerald seib wrote that piece. the executive washington editor of "the wall street journal." interesting look at both men and both countries, jerry. is the truth somewhere in between? are we right? is moscow right? how do you make sense of it? >> in their own ways, both sides are right. americans think as i indicated in the piece we're beyond the cold war and thank goodness for it. it was time of instability and wildly inflated defend expensing on both side. aren't we glad we're beyond that. vladmir putin looks at that

period essentially that is the period where the russian state had its rightful influence. it wasn't just russia. it was soviet empire with even broader sphere of influence and i think you have to look at his actions now. to some extent he wants to recreate that world. that is true in ukraine. it was true in georgia in 2008. and the concern is he has in mind something that goes even beyond those places. you know he will not recreate the warsaw pact but he has in mind something he calls the eurasia economic union as a rival to the european union. he seems to have set out to try to make that reality. jenna: there is a lot of debate how we're dealing with this issue in ukraine and whether or not we should be addressing it at all. gerry, in your opinion, do we need to act more russian to address this issue correctly? meaning do we have to take the philosophy that is little more nationalistic than perhaps the one we take now in this country? >> well look, i think what the u.s. probably has to do is what is trying to do, is come up with a sort of unified response with

the europeans because an american response in this context, much as in the cold war to go back to that period, doesn't work unless there is a west european component to it, in this case a broad european component to it and i think this is vladmir putin's weakness. the ukrainian example shows there is not great desire on the part of a lot of people in europe to fall back into the orbit moves could you, of the russian state. so i think in that sense, you know, the idealogical struggle of the cold war was probably decided on past of the west and democratic capitalism and i think just the power play is not going to be sufficient. you know, vladmir putin had put $15 billion on the table to try to lure the ukrainians back in. u.s. and western allies matched that as of today. so i think that is what you have to do. you have to play an economic hard ball game as much as military hard ball game. jenna: gerry, quickly here, do we get to choose? obviously in this country we talk about the cold war very much like it is over. of course we do. as you said it is in the rear

view mirror. do we get to choose it is if someone else is saying it's not? >> you're right i think that is a good point. i think the russian message to the west here in this episode and a couple of other ones has been we want to be a world player. i don't think that is necessarily something that the u.s. objects to. the russians can play a useful role as they probably did in syria a few months ago but it is not a zero-sum game. it can't be russia up, and u.s. down. that was the cold war formula. the desire has to be more of a working relationship, a more feasible and rational working relationship but i think your point is right. if vladmir putin wants there to be confrontation there will be confrontation. jenna: very interesting. the article goes on. i wish we had more time, gerry. always great to have you on the program, thanks so much. >> thanks, jenna. jon: there is new evidence that gives people a reason to quit smoking. just how much and how long second-hand smoke is hurting kids. we'll tell you more about that. the new warning about antibiotics. are patients being put at risk?

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jon: some new information on secondhand smoke and how it hurts kids. a new study finds exposure to cigarette smoke causes permanent damage to children's arteries, increasing their risks of heart attacks and strokes once they grow up. jamie colby live in the new york city newsroom with more on that. >> what else do i have to tell you, jon except, quit smoking! the results of this international study actually revealed today we are aging our children, their arteries to be exact, by exposing them to the second-hand smoke which we've always known is dangerous but this is interesting. for the first time they pinpointed some statistics, about 40% of all children are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke at home and scientists report almost a third of the

deaths attributable to second-hand smoke are in children. so those are startling and turns out a preventable number. the study found irreversible damage to children's arteries occurs when they're exposed to smoking in cars and at home. it does in fact increase their chance of heart attacks and strokes when they grow up. the damage is direct and irreversible. it actually adds, jon, 3.3 years to the age of their blood vessels. first time they have been able to pinpoint a change in their body and composition and structure. the study conducted at the university of tasmania. the scientist says she hopes the findings will encourage parents to quit smoking. meantime the world health orization says 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, 250 are harmful and 50 at least cause cancer. the only way to curb the danger that kids are facing is to be 100% smoke-free. and the u.s., australia and

canada actually have led the way banning smoking in cars that are carrying children. we hope it continues. jon: yeah. you think of children as being resilient but permanent damage, that's really scary. >> a parent who doesn't take note of the study and still smokes, i rest my case. jon: jamie colby, thanks. jenna: going to stay on the health now. new cdc finding up to half the antibiotics being prescribed are quote, inappropriate in some way and increasing the risk of drug resistant germs. the agency is pushing hospitals to improve how they prescribe the drugs. jonathan serrie is live in atlanta where cdc is based. >> reporter: jenna, the cdc says the improper use of antibiotics in hospitals is widespread. they issued a new vital signs report that some doctors in hospitals are prescribing three times as many antibiotics as their counterparts in other hospitals to treat similar

patients. listen. >> we see real harms from excess antibiotics, drug resistant organisms, bad reactions to antibiotics and something which can cause deadly infections of the intestinal tract and contributes to about 14,000 debts a year in this country. >> reporter: the cdc report also found that 1/3 of hospital prescriptions to treat urinary tract infections and descriptions for the a common drug bancmycin are given too long. >> doctors hand out antibiotics like they're candy. because they're practicing defensive medicine. maybe there is 1% chance here of bacteria. i don't want to miss that. this is knee-jerk reaction and pressure and doctors not being reformed. this has got to stop. >> reporter: cdc officials are recommending every hospital in the u.s. develop strong oversight for evaluating and tracking their antibiotic prescriptions and also offer

education about the threats of drug resistant germs. back to you. >> jonathan, thank you. >> reporter: certainly. jon: a terrifying site at a family beach. a woman drives her car into the ocean with her kids inside. why police say this was no accident. oscar pistorius breaking down and crying during testimony in his murder trial as witnesses detail what they heard before the shots that killed his girlfriend. you'll hear the eyewitness account that could seal his fate on an unrelated gun charge

jenna: breaking now, word of dozens of weapons stopped from getting into the hands of terrorists of the israeli naval forces raiding a ship in the red sea off the coast of sudan. reporting they seized advanced rockets which they say came from iran and were headed to militants in gaza. that is a very familiar smuggling trail from iran to sudan up the coast of africa, through egypt to gaza. those missiles get fired into israel. the operation code named full disclosure followed months of intelligence gathering. no comment from iran or hamas rulers in gaza. jon: two -- to south africa now to day three of the murder trial of "blade runner" oscar pistorius. the paralympian arriving in court with testimony from neighbors with all essentially the same story. pistorius breaking down in tears

as witnesses testified hearing screams best gunshots that killed his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. the testimony of course raises doubts over pistorius's own story he thought she was an intruder. another witness also coming forward saying pistorius asked his friend to take the fall for a separate bun charge he also faces stemming from a restaurant shooting. here is the testimony. >> i don't know what happened. how the gun went off but he did apologize and say, i'm so sorry. it was a mistake. are you okay? is everybody okay? i do remember oscar saying, please, to darren, just with you, i don't want any attention around me. say it was you. and then once that was said, the people from the restaurant came to the table and that's when darren said it was him. jon: joining me now, legal panel, anna young, former prosecutor. phil snyder, a criminal defense attorney. that reckless discharge of a firearm chargings it is also part of this case, anna.

it would seem insignificant or less than significant when a guy is already facing a murder charge. but you say it is very crucial i guess for the prosecution to include that charge. why? >> absolutely, jon. i think it was extremely smart and strategically for the prosecution to add the charge of reckless discharge of a firearm. if you think about it this murder case stems upon oscar pistorius's credibility. he makes this thing seem like it was an accident and he thought she was untruer. his own friend saying oscar asked me to take the fall, it showcases to the judge maybe oscar pistorius is not as honest as you might think he is. it makes her question, well if he is asking his friend to take the blame because evans to asaid some type of culpability, it delivers a damaging blow to his credibility which is at issue in the murder case. jon: we talked yesterday about the testimony from a woman who shade she heard screams before the gunshots. her husband also testified.

let's play some of that. phil, i want to get your reaction. >> all i can offer you is i heard screaming. >> do you know if it was long before the shots or short before the shots? you only remember screaming, is that correct? >> it was, it is difficult to judge the amount of time that lapsed. so, and my short might be your long. >> yes. >> i don't want to pick a time. there were, the screams and then the shots started. jon: so, phil, he is one of three neighbors who are saying he heard screams and then gunshots. doesn't that do a lot to destroy oscar pistorius's defense? >> that, you know the state's witnesses, the most powerful witnesses they are going to present at trial, that is very common. you have primacy and recently so they put their best witness up

front. fors car's defense to hold water their expert will have to show one thing. that it is impossible to for someone to differentiate a sound of woman or a man over equivalent of two football fields or two, based on state's theory that after the gunshots went off that after they heard reva scream, that is physically impossible. short of experts saying that i think the witnesses carry significant weight and they have no agenda to lie and it crushes oscar's defense. jon: his team would have the court believe it was the sound of him beating down the door with a cricket bat. now i have heard gunshots. i've heard, you know, baseball bats, used, being used to whack heavy items. they don't sound much alike. >> that's exactly right, jon. and i think that is what the witness was saying especially when the neighbor said, i know what a gunshot sound like and what i heard was gunshots. it was not the sound of a cricket bat hitting a door. especially think about the distance. we're talking about 190 yards

between oscar pistorius's house and neighbor. jon, i think it's a red herring. facts show that viva steenkamp was shot multiple times. there are no dispute multiple gunshots is fired which is consistent what the neighbors are saying. i think that is red herring by the defense and trying to use what they have but they're not making any kind of effective leeway. the case. jon: the case goes on. we'll continue to watch it. thank you both. >> thanks, jon. jenna: a shocking site as a popular tourist destination as a pregnant mom drives her van off the road in daytona beach, florida, and drives straight into the ocean with her children still buckled inside and apparently screaming for help. steve herrigan is live in miami with more on this. steve? >> jenna this happened 5:00 p.m. yesterday on daytona beach an area of beach where it is legal to drive. bystanders noticed a honda minivan driving erratically into

the water and turned into surf. first person on the scene said heard, help, my mother is trying to kill us. he dragged two children to safety, nine-year-old and 10-year-old boy and girl but he told them there is baby inside the car. as more helps is coming, the mother gets out on the driver's side window, walks away, not looking behind to the three-year-old girl still strapped in that baby seat. it took two lifeguards, tremendous effort before the van was submerged to pull the three-year-old to safety. as of now we don't know the motivation for the woman. she is undergoing psychological evaluation. the three kids, no major injuries. they spent the night in the hospital. but apparently they are still shaken up by their ordeal. jenna. jenna: what a scary incident. steve, thank you. jon: attorney general eric holder finding common ground with some unlikely republican allies. the cause that is uniting them and how it could lead to some major changes in our criminal just sis system. also as we continue to

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a rich, never bitter taste cup after cup. 340 grams. [ sighs ] [ male announcer ] always rich, never bitter. gevalia. jenna: "happening now," a surprising partnership in washington that could lead to major reform in sentencing, mandatory sentencing of drug offenders. the issue is reportedly a priority of attorney general eric holder second term agenda. the surprising part is that he is finding common ground with republicans like kentucky senator rand paul on a plan to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders. lawmakers are considering drastically reducing mandatory sentences for trafficking, giving federal judges more discretion in allowing some prisoners to get their sentences reduced. judge andrew napolitano is the one to talk about this, fox news senior judicial analyst. talk about some of the basics before we get into the politics. >> okay. jenna: what type of mandatory sentences are we talking about

here? >> we're talking about sending people to jail for five or 10 years with sufficient amount of marijuana which the person says for her own use but the government persuaded to a jury is so much marijuana you are probably going to sell it. there are heartbreaking situations where the person did possess it for their own use and didn't even use it on a regular basis. the sentencing of this person to five or 10 years in jail was profoundly unjust but the judges hands were forced. >> mandatory sentences i understand it, go into, five, 10, 20-year time range, sometimes longer than that depending on harsh the sentence is? >> jenna, there are thousands of americans as we speak in federal prisons, serving 20 years sentences they didn't harm anybody. they just harmed themselves. they are at present, either worse people before they went in or totally kicked their drug habit because they can't get it in jail. you can get drugs in jail but a lot of people have rehabilitated themselves. jenna: sounds like you think this would be good idea to reduce mandatory sentences to five or 10 years?

>> almost all judges hate mandatory sentences because they, and when i was there, i, don't like, didn't like many just a clerk, told that this is the crime. that's the sentence. you like to be able to have personal input, to evaluate the worthiness of the defendant, a human being, for this type of sentence. there are some judge that is like manned tories because then there is no blame on them. they're off the hook. the statute made me do it. but the overwhelming majority of judges would rather do the right thing, which means sentence somebody stiffer and sentence somebody lesser and depending upon their own can culpability, their own situation, what kind of family they are supporting and priors, one of the things you take into account. jenna: the reason we're seeing strange bedfellows according to this report, to reduce prison population and safe money and use the fund in more effective ways. we'll get into most more effective ways there is question about serving justice. while you mention there are certain cases where people seem

to get unfair sentence for a one-time offense there could be the other, other side of the coin which is, we want drug dealers off the streets? >> we're not talking about drug dealers. we are talking about drug users. but the government argues, some courts won't allow this, in new jersey it is no longer permitted but permitted when i was on the bench. the government argues the following, there was so much marijuana in this person's home it couldn't possibly be for personal use because the shelf life would expire before they use it. therefore they will sell it and you have to keep them off the streets. jenna: use same situation, people listening say, fine, judge, had a lost drugs in their house, only fine for their use. i don't want anybody using drugs on my street or around my kid. i want them to go to prison. >> you know in colorado, in the state of washington and pretty soon the district of columbia you will be able to use your marijuana in your own home in the nation's capitol. in 1 other states you use

marijuana for medicinal purposes. the trend is in favor of marijuana in part because of libertarian argument. you own your own body. decide what you put into it. not talking about children. in part because the cost of incarcerating these folks who are essentially not a harm to the public. only potential harm to themselves is extraordinary. that is attorney general holder's argument. jenna: we're not just talking about marijuana. we should be clear. >> that is correct. jenna: include other drugs, heroin, cocaine. >> talking about non-violent users. not dealers and -- jenna: real quick, one of the arguments for this again, mandatory prison sentences do not deter people. >> yes. jenna: if that doesn't deter people, then what will deter purpose? >> mandatory prison sentences might deter violent people by keeping them off the street, but a person is in need of help, they should get the correction and people like governor christie, a conservative republican, former prosecutor, has instituted programs in new jersey which take money that

used to house these people in jail and gives them counseling and medical assistance to wane them off the drugs. that will work -- wean them off the drugs. jenna: we'll get into politics next time. >> yes we will. jenna: very interesting to see. rand paul, and attorney general eric holder come together as a team. judge, pleasure to see you always. jon? jon: couple of strange bedfellows, those two. president obama causing new controversy with his selection for department of justice top post. someone who helped defend a cop killer. the surprising senate vote just concluded whether this nomination will proceed. we'll tell you what happened next. plus thieves now targeting enormous trees of the west coast in some areas. we'll tell you about this unusual crime and how folks are now trying to fight back. >> i'm alisyn camerota. coming up on hq, tempers flare on capitol hill after former irs

official lois lerner pleads the fifth once again. what now? congressman mark med doors was there. and he will be here. >> i'm gregg jarrett in for bill. russia says the troops in crimea are not theirs. how will diplomacy work with that starting point? >> remember coins found in a couple's backyard, could the government claim them? our legal team thinks some we'll explain when gregg and i see you at the top of the hour. isn't the only return i'm looking forward to... for some, every dollar is earned with sweat, sacrifice, courage. which is why usaa is honored to help our members with everything from investing for retirement to saving for college. our commitment to current and former military members and their families is without equal. inuses are acting up and i've got this runny nose.

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jon: well get this. thieves are stealing parts of some of the most' amazing sights in nature. ancient and gigantic redwood trees. now a mission is underway to put a stop tot crime. jamie colby in our new york city newsroom with more on that. >> hey, jon, it is one of those stories you just can't make up. they're called burl poachers. that is the name for them.

this is what they left behind. look at this. magnificent california redwoods strip of base with slabs stolen and sold by poachers used to make tables and wall clocks we're told. park officials at the redwood national and state parks are striking back. they are taking action. they have closed streets on a scenic parkway to draw attention to the growing problem and they're hoping it will deter the thieves who strike remote areas with chainsaws and atvs. the practice has gone on for years, really decade. but suddenly it is on the rise. so the giant redwoods, although they can survive the slaughter of the base, they do regrow, the redwoods are in diminished supply. it is still a pretty sad sight for park visitors to see the trees all torn up. you ask the question why would anybody destroy it? there is lot of money involved in this this is one of nature's great creations. people make things out of it. officials say thieves, when

asked, because of my drug addiction because i can't get a regular job. pretty lame excuse to stoop so low. a shortage of park rangers and patrols is making it difficult to stop them. again they do it in broad daylight. they're selling to unknowing customers for about $700 each. so authorities are now asking if you buy burl, ask for proof of a legitimate source. that is the least we can do, jon. jon: good tip. unbelievable. jamie, thank you. >> take care. jenna: fox news alert. vice president joe biden just presided over senate procedural vote on controversial nominee to run the civil rights department of justice civil rights division. shannon bream is here. >> reporter: appear the nomination of debo adegbile is no-go, because the senate voted no on moving forward to a full vote. however it is important to note that senate majority leader harry reid, well he may have another trick up his sleeve. you may have noticed he voted no at the very last minute. now as a senator, who voted on the prevailing side, that would be the no voters here, he

actually can bring him up for another vote if at some point he thinks he has enough votes to get him through. by my countses seven democrats voted no, so appears unlikely but it is possible. critics of him point to legal defense of coon vicked cop killer mumia abu ya'll mall. after he was sentenced to debt, adegbile led up a team that got his death sentence tossed. supporters say he was legal ad vote canned doing his job. but critics say it went far beyond legal technicalities. >> under his leadership they fanned the flames of racial tension and rallies and protests through a media campaign to portray mumia abu-jamal, unrepentant cop killer as political prisoner. >> reporter: number of democrats voted no including senator bob casey. came out publicly against

adegbile saying vicious murder of officer falkner and events filed in 30 years since his death left open wounds for maureen faulkner, his widow. after having met with him and as well as fraternal order of police i will not vote to confirm the nominee. white it house obviously knew this was going to be a close vote today. vice president joe biden was on site to oversee the vote and would have cast a tiebreaker had it been necessary but there were enough votes on the no side he didn't actually have to vote this time around. jenna. >> story we'll continue to watch. thank you. jon: known for his home run swing but chicago white socks car adam dunne tried out his acting chops in the off season in oscar-winning film. wait until you see how his teammates welcomed back the star player.

ree well adam dunn known as a fierce slugger.

but he did moon lighting this year. the dallas buyer's club attended the oscars on sunday. this is what he found. his teammates gave his locker the treatment. >> that's great sense of humor. thanks for joining us. america's news headquarters starts right now. fox news alert. a critical hearing was over in just minutes but not before fireworks. welcome to hq, i am alisyn camerota. >> and i am greg in for bill hemmer. lois lerner called to capitol hill and she refused to answer questions. this time. >> can't do anything about it. they want the irs to fix the problem. miss learner, what exactly